Spinning toy comprising a disk and a removable shaft with projections thereon for secring said disk thereto



July 14, 1964 a. HORNER 3,140,561

SPINNING TOY COMPRISING A DISK AND A REMOVABLE SHAFT WITH PROJECTIONS THEREON FOR SECURING SAID DISK THERETO Filed Aug. 29, 1962 INVENTOR. GEORGE L. HORNER 1m 54w ATTORNEY FIG.

United States Patent 3,140,561 SPHNNING TOY CGMPRISING A DISK AND A RE- MOVABLE SHAFT WHTH PRQJECTIONS THERE- ON FER SECURING SAID DISK THERETG George L. Homer, 407 St. Louis Way, Vancouver, Wash. Filed Aug. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 220,287 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-62) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in spinning toys and is more particularly concerned with a spinning toy of the type which is held between the hands and revolved first in one direction and then in the other direction under the influence of string handles.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a spinning toy of the type described employing a novel disc and string-attachable shaft structure which provides stabilization while spinning as well as long wear of the string.

Another object is to provide a spinning toy of the type described having a novel disc and shaft structure wherein these two parts are readily separated for substituting various disc designs on the shaft.

Another object is to provide a spinning toy of the type described employing string attaching shaft structure which is designed to increase the rotative speed of the toy.

Still another object is to provide a spinning toy which is constructed for inexpensive molding from suitable plastics.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a disc-like member having a shaft portion which projects from opposite sides thereof. The shaft has end apertures to which strands of string are tied for the purpose of operating the disc. Importantly, the shaft has a sufiicient mass wherein upon rotation of the disc a stabilizing motion is accomplished. A novel structural arrangement is provided wherein the disc is removable from the shaft so that a plurality of disc designs may be substituted one for the other.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects will become apparent from the following specification and claim, considered together with the accompanying drawings, wherein the numerals of reference indicate like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a foreshortened view, partly broken away, of the spinning toy of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the present toy taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing a second form of disc design mounted on the shaft.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral denotes the toy generally. This toy consists of a disclike member 12 and a central shaft 14 which projects beyond the side surfaces of the disc and is provided with an eye or aperture 16 adjacent each end thereof. Through each of the eyes 16 there is looped as string 13 having at least two strands.

The toy is operated by holding a strand 18 in each hand and coiling them initially which may be accomplished by swinging the toy in a wide arc while holding the strands in a slack condition. When a partially coiled condition is reached it is necessary only to tension the cords by pulling outwardly on the strands which causes them to unwind and spin the disc. The strands will unwind completely and then coil in the opposite direction on the inertia of the original tensioning force. Thus as the strands are tensioned and slackened the disc will reverse its directions to provide an entertaining toy.

The shaft structure as illustrated has the important feature of being sufficiently massive to provide a stabilized rotation of the toy. In addition the string connection to the shaft through the medium of the apertures 16 reduces to a minimum the frictional wear on the string at the point of attachment with the toy. Thus, the string will have maximum life. Furthermore the shaft is of a diameter such that the strands of string are separated considerably at the connection, designated by the numeral 20, wherein upon an outward pull of the strings 18 an additional twist or whip is applied to the shaft and disc to obtain a great speed thereon. In this regard it is desired that the spacing 20 be greater than the total thickness of the coiled strands.

Disc 12 and shaft 14 are provided with structure whereby the former is detachable from the latter. For this purpose the shaft has longitudinal ribs or tongues 22 and the disc has a central aperture 24 and the grooves 26 adapted to receive the ribs 22. It is to be understood, however, that the grooves may be in the shaft and the ribs may be on the disc. The connection thus far described preferably comprises a friction connection but one which permits the disc to be disengaged longitudinally from the shaft. Thus, in packaged and merchandising form a single shaft may be accompanied by various shapes and designs of discs, and the customer may utilize the disc desired. In this regard FIG. 2 illustrates a circular disc and FIG. 5 illustrates a star-shaped disc.

In order to insure that the disc will remain on the shaft, sets of bead-like projections 28 are formed integrally on the shaft, the sets being spaced apart a distance equal to the thickness of the disc whereby as apparent in FIG. 1 the disc is positioned therebetween. Preferably, the shaft or disc or both are formed of a plastic material which is sufliciently resilient to permit a slight distortion of the parts to permit the disc to be moved over the projections 28 when it is desired to attach or detach it.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A spinning toy comprising a disc member having opposite face surfaces, a shaft projecting centrally through said disc member and extending outwardly from each side thereof, interengaging tongue and groove means on said disc member and shaft for connecting said disc member and shaft together for unitary rotation, and projections on said shaft spaced apart longitudinally of the shaft a selected distance to engage opposite face surfaces of the disc member for locking the latter on said shaft, at least one of the said disc member and projections being distortable for moving said disc member on said shaft from one end of the latter over the said projections into a locked position intermediate said projections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 748,661 Scott Jan. 5, 1904 

